The invention generally relates to sortation systems, and relates in particular to robotic and other sortation systems that are intended to be used in dynamic environments requiring the sortation system to accommodate processing a variety of objects in both homogeneous and heterogeneous arrangements.
Many order fulfillment operations achieve high efficiency by employing a process in which orders are picked from warehouse shelves and placed into bins that are sorted downstream. At the sorting stage individual articles are identified, and multi-article orders are consolidated into a single bin or shelf location so that they may be packed and then shipped to customers. The process of sorting these articles has been done by hand. A human sorter picks an article from an incoming bin, finds the barcode on the object, scans the barcode with a handheld or fixed-mount barcode scanner, determines from the scanned barcode the appropriate bin or shelf location for the article, and then places the article in the so-determined bin or shelf location where all articles for that order go.
There remains a need, therefore, for an object identification, sortation, grasp selection, and motion planning system for a robotic system that is able to accommodate the automated identification and processing of a variety of objects in a variety of orientations.